Para sa Bayan: A study on moral legitimacy and social enterprise in the Philippines using PCSR communication framework

Abstract

Social enterprises are confronted with an issue in terms of acquiring organizational legitimacy given their dual nature of having economic and social goals. This study explores how managers and leaders of social enterprises in the country address the said issue, particularly its one type namely moral legitimacy, through organizational communication. This study utilized the framework of Seele and Lock’s (2015) Political Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR) Communication Framework. The use of the PCSR framework stems from the researcher's argument that social enterprise is the organization form of PCSR. This study used an exploratory case study design through online in-depth semi-structured interviews with two established for-profit social enterprises and one relatively young social cooperative: Sentinel Upcycling Technologies (Quezon City), Coffee for Peace (Davao), and YES Cooperative (Cavite). The researcher also employed the observation method to describe the communication tools used by these organizations. The three social enterprises faced moral legitimacy issues to varying degrees. The three social enterprises employed storytelling, finding a brand champion, breaking cultural barriers, and using traditional communication to combat legitimacy issues. This study also revealed that social enterprises in the country focus its communication efforts toward promoting their social cause rather than their products or services. In conclusion, social enterprises that used organizational communication that is grounded and contextualized in the communities’ values and moral philosophy allowed them to build integrity and credibility.